Hawaii Pacific University Takes Full Ownership of Aloha Tower Marketplace

Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) and its development partner Ed Bushor have resolved a dispute regarding the ownership of the Aloha Tower Marketplace in downtown Honolulu. According to the Pacific Business News, the university, along with its affiliate Hawaii Downtown Holdings LLC and Lifestyle Retail Properties LLC led by the California-based developer have agreed to proceed with a buyout agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The resolution allows HPU to move forward with an approximately $30 million plan to redevelop the two-story waterfront property into a 300-unit student dormitory and multi-use complex. Plans call for housing on the upper floor and retail, dining and entertainment space on the first floor.

Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) and its development partner, Ed Bushor, have resolved a dispute regarding the ownership of the Aloha Tower Marketplace in downtown Honolulu. According to the Pacific Business News, the university, its affiliate Hawaii Downtown Holdings L.L.C. and Lifestyle Retail Properties L.L.C. have agreed to proceed with a buyout. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The resolution gives HPU full control of the property, allowing it to move forward with an approximately $30 million plan to redevelop the two-story waterfront building into a 300-unit student dormitory and multi-use complex. Plans call for housing on the upper floor and retail, dining and entertainment space on the first floor.

Through Hawaii Lifestyle Retail Properties, Ed Bushor, the founder of eRealty Fund, owned 20 percent of the property. The 165,000-square-foot open-air retail center opened in 1994.

“I am honored to assist HPU, education and youth in the growth of the university,” he said in a statement. “I believe this will further HPU’s ambitious program of development and place it on the map worldwide. This is a win-win for all ­HPU, its students, Bushor and Hawaii.”

The redevelopment project could break ground this summer, HPU spokesperson Todd Simmons told the newspaper. The first students are expected to move in in the fall of 2014.

“This project holds great potential, not only for Hawaii Pacific University but also for downtown Honolulu and for everyone who believes that Aloha Tower Marketplace can be the downtown jewel that so many have hoped it would become,” HPU President Geoffrey Bannister said in the written statement.